PM Modi To Hold Covid Review With CMs Today

HT Daily News Wrap

After rounds of hectic parleys, Prashant Kishor declines Congress's offer, PM Modi to hold Covid review with CMs today, Nitin Gadkari invites Tesla to manufacture e-vehicles in India and other top news in this bulletin.
A day after advocating free speech on Twitter that Elon Musk has now bought following a $44 billion deal, Musk on Wednesday explained what he meant by ‘free speech’, as his earlier proclamation left Twitter users high and dry as they did not understand what Musk actually meant by free speech on Twitter. In a clarification tweet, Elon Musk said by free speech, he meant that which matches the law. “I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law, he said hinting that his earlier tweets on free speech led to ‘extreme antibody reaction’ from those who fear free speech. “If people want less free speech, they will ask the governments to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people,” he said. So what does Elon Musk’s new tweet on free speech mean? Elon Musk’s Twitter will not go against the law of the land to promote free speech. It will respect what people want and if people want less free speech and their government has laws to that effect, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not go beyond the law. The extended courtship between Prashant Kishor and the beleaguered Congress came to an end on Tuesday with public statements from both sides that it was over as the poll strategist declined an offer by the grand old party to join an empowered group of leaders for the 2024 general elections. While the Congress thanked Kishor for his “effort and suggestions”, he said that, more than him, the party needed “leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems” in order to revive its fortunes. People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that the deal fell through because of four reasons: Kishor’s insistence that he would only report to party president Sonia Gandhi; his demand for use of data in choice of candidates, which effectively meant a free hand; his view on alliances with regional parties; and his desire to focus on the parliamentary elections in 2024, not the state elections this year or next. A fire broke out at the Bhalswa landfill site in north Delhi on Tuesday evening and continued to burn late into the night, even as 10 fire tenders of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) battled the blaze since 5.45pm. This is fourth major fire to be reported from Delhi’s landfill sites in the last one month, with the three previous blazes being reported from east Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill. A senior North MCD official said efforts to douse the fire were on till late night and the corporation has deployed excavators to dump sand on the origin point. “It is not yet known whether the fire was caused by methane generation or human activity,” the municipal official said. Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to provide a detailed report on the fire within 24 hours. With temperatures rising in the city, the frequency of landfill fires has also increased. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers on the emerging Covid-19 situation in the country on Wednesday through video conferencing, an official said. Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan will also make a presentation at the conference. “PM Modi will interact with CMs on the Covid-related situation in the country through video conferencing tomorrow at 12 noon,” the official said. The Prime Minister has held several meetings with chief ministers of all states since the pandemic hit the country in 2020. Ahead of several festivals, Modi on Sunday had urged people to stay alert to the threat from the coronavirus and continue to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, the Prime Minister said the festival of Eid, Akshaya Tritiya, birth anniversary of Bhagwan Parashuram and Vaishakh Budh Purnima will be celebrated in the coming days. “All these festivals are festivals of restraint, purity, charity and harmony. Advance greetings to all of you on the occasion of these festivals. Celebrate these festivals with great gaiety and harmony,” Modi had said. Highlighting the conducive environment for automobile manufacturing in India, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that Elon Musk is welcome to manufacture e-vehicles in India, but in case the Tesla owner desires to build in China and sell here, it cannot be a “good proposition”. Gadkari made the remarks while speaking at a private event in Delhi answering a question on Tesla’s concerns on “high duties” in India. “It is a very easy alternative, if Elon Musk is ready to manufacture a Tesla in India, there is no problem. We have got all competencies, the vendors are available. We have got all types of technology and because of that, he can reduce the cost,” Gadkari said. Inviting Tesla to start manufacturing in India, the Union Minister highlighted that India is a huge market, and infrastructure like ports are available to enable exports. “He is welcome in India. We don’t have any problem, but, suppose, he wants to manufacture in China and sell in India, it cannot be a good proposition for India. Our request to him is, come to India and manufacture here,” Gadkari said.